And yesterday friends and colleagues were counting the loss of war reporter Brian Hanrahan – as a great bloke.

The BBC stalwart, who made his name in the heat of battle in the Falklands, has died aged 61 after a short illness.

He delivered his famous line about Harrier jump jets during the 1982 conflict to get round restrictions on revealing how many planes had taken part in any particular operation. BBC reporter Kate Adie, 65, spoke of his “wonderful way with words” as she recalled his epic broadcast.

She said: “It was an extraordinary moment. You heard the words and you knew the import and the way he had delivered it and rightly it has gone into history, that phrase.”

BBC director general Mark Thompson, 53, said: “He was a journalist of unimpeachable integrity and outstanding judgment but his personal kindness and humanity also came through. That is why audiences and everyone who knew him here will miss him very much.”

Brian, who leaves a wife and daughter, joined the BBC 40 years ago as a photographic clerk after a politics degree.

He was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and his condition deteriorated rapidly after he was admitted to hospital with an infection 10 days ago. During an illustrious career, he covered the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Tiananmen Square massacre and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

BBC World News editor Jon Williams described him as a “big character”.

Last week, as the Harrier was grounded because of defence cuts, Brian texted from his hospital bed to say he was sorry he could not be there to cover the last flight.